It Pays to be a Scientist in the Marijuana Industry

If you’re dreaming about striking it rich in the burgeoning legal marijuana industry, it’ll help to have an advanced science degree.

But for an industry predicted to employ as many as 300,000 people by 2020, according to analytics firm New Frontier Data, the majority of jobs in the field will pay relatively low wages and require little skill.

Jobs like budtender and bud trimmer, entry level positions, will make up the vast majority.

Bud trimmers prepare marijuana plants for retail sale. They get paid on average between $8 to $12 an hour, according to Jacob Silverstein, a former marketing manager for the Las Vegas dispensary ReLeaf who is currently a cannabis industry consultant.